Poison Master
by Saffronica612
Summary: Poison study as seen through a 3rd person limited/Valek's perspective. Follows the book exactly.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Poison Master

By: Smartkitty314

Synopsis: Poison Study, written from 3rd Person Limited (Valek's) Point of View. The book's events from a different perspective.

Rating: Pg-13. Nothing more mature than anything found in the book itself.

Disclaimer: This exists solely for the purpose of me enjoying myself and practicing my writing, not me making any money.

Chapter One: Setting the Pieces.

Valek slipped through the hidden doorway into the shadows of the curtains silently. The Commander leaned over his desk, scowling at a bit of paperwork, although Valek knew the true cause of his displeasure—the tempting-smelling meal that sat beside the pile of work, slowly growing colder.

Now that he thought about it, this door was a security risk—any servant could slip in, unnoticed, with a knife. The Commander would be dead before he could even turn around and see who hit him. His fingers twitched towards his knife as he imagined Ambrose slumped, still and bloody, on his great desk.

"Valek." The Commander's voice was curt. "My lunch is cold."

Valek smiled to himself. He had overlooked an important factor—the Commander's powers of observation were nearly as good as his own, and the Commander was the only person to ever beat him in a fight. An assassin would need legendary prowess to dethrone this military dictatorship.

"Sorry, sir." Both of them knew he wasn't really. In all the castle—in all of Ixia—he was probably the only one who could come and go as he pleased, and the Commander would wait for him.

He quickly sniffed the food, sliced slivers of the meat, gurgled the cider, then nodded. No poisons. The Commander wasted no time digging in. His rumbling stomach overcame his slight revulsion at the thought of cold food.

"So, what are you planning, Valek? I can see there's something on your mind."

Valek smiled. "I don't trust General Brazell."

The Commander laughed. "What's new? You don't trust anyone, but you haven't trusted him especially since I appointed him."

"He's ruthless and power-hungry. And he's doing something, I know it."

"Valek, you see conspiracy theories basically everywhere. He's here to see the death of his son's killer. It seems perfectly reasonable to me."

Valek flashed one of his rare smiles. "That's a moot point. How many actual plots against you have I stopped, compared to the number that I've suspected? You may not be paranoid, but trust me, the whole world _is_ out to get us. The Generals want more power. The rich miss the old Regime. The Sitians miss the rich trade. People romanticize the past and ignore the benefits that this new governing system of equality is unfair because it doesn't allow for situations."

The Commander shrugged. "I never promised it would be perfect. It's far more fair than the rich bribing their way out of punishments. Besides, you take care of the other situations." The Commander might not officially agree with how Valek handled more questionable situations, but he understood the importance of keeping the peasants content. In fact, Valek suspected he would do the same if he didn't care so much about living up to his own standards.

"This might just be one of those situations."

The Commander leaned forward. "I'm listening."

"The entire orphanage didn't fit with Brazell's personality. I've suspected something for years, but nothing has turned up on it. Now out of the blue, one of the orphans murders his son? I would understand if she were insane, or working for a royalist network. I've kept her under observation in the dungeon for nearly a year, and she's not stupid, and she's not insane. She had no contact with any networks I know, and I've had my spies scouring for any trace of conspiracy. As far as I can tell, she's innocent—except for that one instance of murder—and most people don't have it in them to take another's life, not even if their own life is threatened."

"So? What can I do? I'm not going to break the Code of Behavior now."

Valek smiled. He knew he was going to get his way. Gesturing to the Commander's half-eaten, cold food tray, he asked, "How would you like to have a new food taster?"


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Poison Master

By: Smartkitty314

Synopsis: Poison Study, written from 3rd Person Limited (Valek's) Point of View. The book's events from a different perspective.

Notes:

Rating: Pg-13. Nothing more mature than anything found in the book itself.

Disclaimer: This exists solely for the purpose of me enjoying myself and practicing my writing, not me making any money.

Chapter 2:

Valek's office was large, open, and had very few true hiding places. Carefully strewn documents hid mirrors that allowed the occupant of the main chair to see every corner of the room. Valek carefully straightened his red and black advisor's uniform, then stared at the latest report from Margg about Star's operation. Although his posture exuded a sense of almost boredom, his senses were carefully trained on the door.

He heard them first—the guard's heavy footsteps, and the creaking and clanking of chains. A breeze blew in from behind, masking the scent of urine, vomit, rat, and filth that clung to any inhabitant of the dungeons. They weren't pretty, but they did their job—breaking people down, mentally and physically, until they were too weak to resist. So they could be remolded and sent back into society.

He looked up at the appropriate time, keeping his expression carefully blank. The woman stood before him—Yelena—shuddering in her thin, tattered red prison gown, her skin streaked with dirt, her hair lank and greasy. Nothing he hadn't seen before. He met her eyes, and they flashed like brilliant emeralds. He could see the intelligence inside of them.

Surprising. The dungeons had not crushed her entirely. He would have to keep a careful eye on this one.

"A woman? The next prisoner to be executed is a woman?" He injected icy malice and a hint of surprise into his voice, widening his eyes slightly. All the little signs to better create a lie. She trembled, but otherwise the guards held their ground silently. They were either well trained, or too stupid to decide how to react to him. He absent-mindedly ran his hand through his hair. "I should have taken the time to reread your dossier." He shooed the guards away. "You're dismissed."

When they were gone, he motioned for the girl to the chair in front of his desk. The chains clanged as she perched on the edge.

Opening a folder, he pretended to scan the pages. "Yelena, today may be your lucky day," he said, carefully observing her reaction. She swallowed, and bowed her head.

Interesting. She reacted as if her sense of self had been…broken, yet he had seen the obvious gleam of intelligence in her eyes. This woman just got more and more mysterious, and it became more and more vital for him to solve her. Finally, he decided on a neutral, "Well-behaved and respectful. You're starting to look like a good candidate." No response. He continued, "You've been tried and found guilty of murdering General Brazell's only son, Reyad."

He paused, stroking his temple with his fingers. "That explains why Brazell's here this week, and why he has been unusually interested in the execution schedule." He let the information slip out as if he were thinking out loud, eyes peeled for her reaction. She didn't move.

"I suppose you're going to protest the conviction. Say you were framed or you killed out of self-defense." Now she would have to reply. The excuse she would use could give him insight onto her personality.

"No, sir," she stated softly, yet defiantly. "I killed him."

Well. He knew some assassins who would brag about such a thing, but her self-deprecating tone didn't fit the profile. If anything, the way she claimed responsibility convinced him even more that the situation was extreme. She reacted in such unpredictable ways. He straightened in his seat, then laughed out loud. Life as a spymaster was never predictable. With her intelligence, she might actually be useful. All the hard work put into training her for show might not go to waste if she could find a job in his corps after he sorted out Brazell.

"This may work out better than I'd planned. Yelena, I'm offering you a choice. You can either be executed, or you can be Commander Ambrose's new food taster. His last taster died recently, and we need to fill the position."

Her faced flashed rapidly from pure surprise to hope to suspicion. Cautiously, she remarked, "A fool would refuse the job."

Interesting. Very interesting. Did she simply not trust anyone, or was she under the impression, like certain royalists, that the Code of Behavior allowed for bullies' abuses? Officials didn't sit around all day getting kicks about pulling pranks on soon-to-be-dead prisoners. If she were sent by the royalists…

He'd just have to watch her even more carefully.

"Well, it's a lifetime position. The training can be lethal. After all, how can you identify poisons in the Commander's food if you don't know what they taste like?" He tidied the papers in the folder.

"You'll get a room in the castle to sleep, but most of the day you'll be with the Commander. No days off. No husband or children. Some prisoners have chosen execution instead. At least then they know exactly when they're going to die, rather than guessing if it's going to come with the next bite." He couldn't repress a smirk at that one. Only an amateur food tester would be killed by a poison. Actually, the last two had died because they had gotten lazy and missed one that he slipped into their own food. Really, a true food tester would become a poison master, would learn to appreciate the subtle beauty of the carefully disguised chemicals which could creep through the victim's veins, stop their heart, bond with the oxygen in their blood and suffocate them. To hold the power of life or death in a vial…

This Yelena looked excited, but bit her lip, carefully considering the proposal. She seemed to be bursting with questions.

"Who tastes the Commander's food now?" she finally asked. One of the safer inquiries, although he could see the other ones written on her face: _What stops me from escaping? What stops me from killing the Commander?_

"I do. So I'm anxious to find a replacement." Having to attend every one of the Commander's meals was a waste of time and an interruption in his clockwork-tight schedule. "Also," he continued, "the Code of Behavior states that someone whose life is forfeit must be offered the job."

Yelena actually stood up and began pacing around his office.

"What shall I tell the executioner?" he asked.

"I am not a fool."


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Poison Master  
>By: Smartkitty314<br>Synopsis: Poison Study, written from 3rd Person Limited (Valek's) Point of View. The book's events from a different perspective.  
>Rating: Pg-13. Nothing more mature than anything found in the book itself.<br>Disclaimer: This exists solely for the purpose of me enjoying myself and practicing my writing, not me making any money.

Chapter 3:

Valek snapped the folder closed, striding towards the door. This Yelena was no longer a prisoner, so no longer a need for her to drag around those chains. He could feel her eyes boring into his back as he instructed the guards waiting outside to remove the manacles. He could see the panic in her eyes as they approached her—again, it amused him to wonder what she expected—then the surprise as she realized her freedom. Her skin was rubbed raw from the grating metal, but the true release remained mental. She sat down, appearing somewhat faint.

All in all, she'd reacted rather well—he had seen some go insane, some still feel the phantom weight, some collapse or throw up. Still, he took advantage of her distraction to slip a bit of orange-white powder into a cup, then pour some mead over it. The powder instantly dissolved.

"While we're waiting for Margg, I thought maybe you could use a drink." He handed her the goblet, then toasting her with his own cup, said, "To Yelena, our newest food taster. May you last longer than your predecessor."

Although she couldn't have possibly noticed anything wrong, she stopped just short of taking a sip.

"Relax," he reassured her. Perhaps the wording was somewhat upsetting? "It's a standard toast."

She took a long swig. From the look on her face, the fact that the drink was alcoholic masked any other subtleties she may have tasted. "Another sip," he commanded. "Identify the ingredients."

This time, she took a smaller portion, and held it in her mouth for a moment. "Peaches sweetened with honey."

"Good. Now take another sip. This time roll the liquid around your tongue before swallowing."

She cautiously complied, making a slight face when she noticed it. "Orange?"

She was a fast learner. He suppressed a grin. "That's right. Now gargle it."

"Gargle?" The suspicious-surprised expression. He nodded. She swished and bubbled it in her mouth, disbelief and disgust flashing across her face. "Rotten oranges!" she accused.

This time, Valek couldn't withhold his laughter. Her disgruntled glare reminded him so much of his own crash-course in food tasting. "Try again, now with my drink."

She cautiously took a sip, then gargled. The surprise as she braced herself for the rotten flavor that never came was almost as funny as her first face.

"Better?" Valek asked, as he took back the empty cup.

"Yes." She still looked suspicious, as if waiting for the catch. Smart girl. Valek returned to his desk and noted the various personality traits he had observed. "You just had your first lesson in food tasting. Your drink was laced with a poison called Butterfly's Dust. Mine wasn't. The only way to detect Butterfly's Dust in a liquid is to gargle it. That rotten-orange flavor you tasted was the poison."

This was his favorite part, telling them they were poisoned. A very good judge of character. Needless to say, she didn't disappoint. _1 part surprised, 2 parts worried, and 1 part indignant_, he noted.

"Is it lethal?"

"A big enough dose will kill you in two days. The symptoms don't arrive until the second day, but by then it's too late."

"Did I have a lethal dose?" She held her breath warily.

"Of course. Anything less and you wouldn't have tasted the poison."

Then came the surprise again, and the nausea. The last thing he wanted was vomit on his desk.

"I warned you the training would be dangerous. But I would hardly give you a poison your body had to fight while you suffered from malnutrition. There is an antidote to Butterfly's Dust." He opened his palm, revealing a small vial containing a white liquid.

She looked a lot more relieved. Valek may have been in danger of laughing if he hadn't perfected controlling his emotions years prior.

"In answer to the question you didn't ask but should have, this—" Valek raised the small vial and shook it "—is how we keep the Commander's food taster from escaping."

She just looked confused. Not stupid, though. Innocent, then? Naïve?

"Yelena, you confessed to murder. We would be fools to let you serve the Commander without some guarantees. Guards watch the Commander at all times and it is doubtful you would be able to reach him with a weapon. For other forms of retaliation, we use Butterfly's Dust." Valek picked up the vial of antidote, and twirled it in the sunlight. "You need a daily dose of this to stay alive. The antidote keeps the poison from killing you. As long as you show up each morning in my office, I will give you the antidote. Miss one morning and you'll be dead by the next. Commit a crime or an act of treason and you'll be sent back to the dungeon until the poison takes you. I would avoid that fate, if I were you. The poison causes severe stomach cramps and uncontrollable vomiting."

Margg arrived behind her, ready to remove her so Valek could get back to work. It had been interesting, but he still had a lot of paperwork to fill out, and interesting didn't get it done.

He dismissed her, saying, "Come to my office tomorrow morning. Margg will direct you."

He would keep a close eye on this one, inquire with the servants about her. She was the clue to a lot of puzzles, but she raised more questions than she answered.


End file.
